Uploading Files

Here are a few things to keep in mind when uploading files into the eCollege platform:

Try to limit the name of your file, along with any folders that it is in, to under 13 characters, and avoid using any spaces or special characters (& / * - %).

If you're uploading the file from a CD or another drive, it's best to save the file to your Desktop and then upload to eCollege from that location.

Although eCollege doesn't place a file size limitation, a standard recommendation is about 10 Mb or 10 minutes. Keeping the file smaller makes the upload and download process much easier and keeping the file shorter assists in holding the students' attention. When uploading files, we recommend that your file size doesn't exceed 5-8 MB (megabytes). Although some people have uploaded much larger files, those files may not load depending on several factors such as the user's connection speed, the time of day they are trying to upload, their ISP, etc. These factors affect downloads to your computer as well.

You may use an online upload/download calculator (such as the public websites, below) to help manage your task. Bear in mind, these are estimates based on ideal conditions.

If you are using programs like Camtasia, Impatica, or Captivate to create presentations for your online courses, be sure to compress all of the files that are exported from those programs together in a Zip file before uploading them to the File Manager, then have them Un-zip during the upload. Usually, you would link to the HTML file that is created (there are exceptions) in order to have all of the files work together as they should, but the key is to keep everything in the same folder so that they can all be found by the script when needed.

Uploading Multiple Files

The easiest and most efficient way to upload multiple files into your course is to first zip the multiple files into a single file folder before uploading. Compressed files are smaller and will take less time to upload. You begin by zipping (compressing) the files locally using any number of compression programs, and then upload the files in Doc Sharing or File Manager (located in Course Home). Pearson eCollege will automatically unzip (decompress) the files for you when you upload them, as long as you check the box that offers to Unzip the Zip file. There are a number of excellent zip utilities available that have good Help systems and supporting Web sites, including the following:PentaZip, PKZip, PowerArchiver, WinZip.